Michal Pagis, Ph.D.

​Department of Sociology and AnthropologyBar Ilan University

Biography

Michal Pagis is a sociologist of culture and religion. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago and is currently an assistant professor at the department of Sociology and Anthropology at Bar Ilan University. Dr. Pagis studies the growing popularity of techniques of self-transformation in contemporary post-industrial culture and the connection between spirituality and popular psychology. Her current projects include the modern practice of Buddhist meditation, spiritual care providers in the Israeli health system and the spread of life-coaching both in the secular sphere and in the Ultraorthodox Jewish society in Israel. Her published papers have appeared in journals such as Social Psychology Quarterly, Work and Occupations and Qualitative Sociology. She is the author of "Inward: Vipassana Meditation and the Embodiment of the Self," published by the University of Chicago Press.

List of publications

BOOKSPagis, Michal. (2019). Inward: Vipassana Meditation and the Embodiment of the Self. University of Chicago Press.

ARTICLES in REFEREED JOURNALS​Pagis, Michal, Wendy Cadge and Orly Tal (2018) “Translating Spirituality: Universalism and Particularism in the Diffusion of Spiritual Care from the United States to Israel” Sociological Forum. 33: 596-618

Pagis, Michal, Orly Tal and Wendy Cadge (2017) “What do Non-Clergy Spiritual Care Providers Contribute to End of Life Care in Israel? A Qualitative Study” Journal of Religion and Health 56:614-622.

Pagis, Michal and Galit Ailon (2017) “The Paradoxes of Self-branding: An Analysis of Consultants’ Professional Webpages” Work and Occupations 44 (3):243-267

CHAPTERS in BOOKSPagis, Michal, Orly Tal and Wendy Cadge (Forthcoming). "“Re-enchanting the End of Life.” In Current Perspectives on Death in Israel. Editted by Haim Hazan and Shai Lavie. Tel Aviv: Hakibutz Hameuad.

Pagis, Michal (2016). "Integrating Positive Psychology into the Workplace: The Case of Life Coaching in Israel." In Outside of the Clinic edited by Jose Brunner and Galia Plotkin. Tel Aviv: Resling.